


Sunday Morning, 8AM

by Kalloway



Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 21:33:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20264848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalloway/pseuds/Kalloway
Summary: Laguna and Squall start a family with the help of weird and questionable science. And then their kids go off to have adventures.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, the title is a Faithless reference. 
> 
> Originally posted June 7, 2004.
> 
> This is a work-in-progress though I do intend to someday finish it.
> 
> (minor edits)

It was a Sunday morning, 8AM, and though Squall had been awake for longer than he cared to admit, he hadn't bothered leaving bed for fear of waking the body beside him.

Instead he'd managed to turn on a small bedside lamp and was currently concentrating on a rather thick novel Quistis had given him for his last birthday. It wasn't the best literature Squall had ever laid eyes upon, but some of the themes inside really struck a chord with him. In a way it was like having a conversation with his former professional partner without actually speaking to one another. She was telling him through the book that she knew and understood more than she'd ever want to confess to over dinner.

At that point, Squall made a mental note to invite Quistis for dinner. Of all the people he'd gotten close to while battling Ultimecia, he'd stayed closest to her. She seemed to understand him to a degree no one else seemed to. And she was the first to voice her support for all the decisions that Squall made. When he resigned from Garden, she simply nodded and handed him the paperwork to become a contracted specialist so he could move to be with his new love interest yet still occasionally assist SeeD when it was necessary. She'd been okay with his finding someone, too. She had seemed a bit surprised at first, but then smiled and congratulated him on finding a relationship healthier than his had been with Rinoa.

"Been up long?"

Squall didn't jump, but he had been startled by the voice.

"You just sleep too late," he replied, placing a bookmark at his page and setting the book beside him.

"Still thinking about it?"

With a nod, Squall slid down so they could kiss. They'd talked for hours the night before about a single subject and both had decided to sleep, and make love, on the idea.

"If someone could do it," Squall said slowly, "I think we could handle it."

"You sure?"

They were back to the same issue that they'd dwelled on for most of the previous evening.

"Laguna, we've been through this. Yes."

Before Laguna could throw out any more half-cocked theories about abandonment and replacement, there was a knock on their bedroom door.

"Sirs," a voice called. "There's a bit of a situation in front of the palace."

Squall met Laguna's eyes for a moment, knowing full well what the next words out of Laguna's mouth would be.

"You're terrible at rock-paper-scissors. Just go," Squall said. "I'll meet you for breakfast."

* * *

"You what?" Squall set down the section of newspaper he'd been skimming while listening to Laguna recount just what the day's rude awakening had involved.

"She barely speaks the language and she has a newborn with her," Laguna replied. "Until she has somewhere to go, she can stay in the palace with us."

Squall looked for a brick wall to bang his head again. "I think the city's security needs to be updated. Foreigners shouldn't just be able to wander in as if there's a big arrow at the entrance."

"This probably isn't the time to mention this," Laguna said, looking around for something to shield himself with, "but I invited her to have lunch with us as well."

* * *

"Lucrecia," the woman said slowly as she nodded to Squall. She obviously would have offered a hand, but her arms were taken up by her infant. "And this... be... Sephiroth."

Squall rolled his eyes. The last thing he felt like doing was dealing with a vagrant who didn't know her verbs. It was going to be a long lunch.

"Can I hold him? How old is he?" It was Laguna, bounding over with his arms out.

"Do you even know how to hold a baby?" Squall asked as Laguna took Sephiroth from Lucrecia's arms.

"Sure," Laguna replied, cradling Sephiroth and bouncing lightly with him.

"He be... not most active baby," Lucrecia said, straightening her clothing and again nodding in Squall's direction. "I worry something that be done to him make him that way."

"Done to him?" Squall was finally interested.

"Yes, that be why I come to here," the woman explained. "I be... scientist. My husband also... was scientist. We do work with... making people. Not right words. Not sure..."

"Your husband?" Laguna asked, bouncing Sephiroth a bit, finally getting a happy gurgle from the infant.

"He no be... He be dead now. And I come here," Lucrecia said sharply. "Please, this place be full of things I work on. I have baby."

And that was just about how everything began.

* * *

About sixteen years later...

* * *

"What time did you come in last night?" Torrent asked his roommate. "I know you were breaking Garden rules."

"The important part is that I didn't get caught," Sephiroth answered, brushing out his hair before pulling it into a low, loose ponytail for the day. "And it's not like I didn't study for today's quiz. I know everything Instructor Trepe is going to throw at us."

Torrent sighed. He'd spent his entire life around the other teen, but still didn't quite understand him. Once, late at night, he'd caught his dad talking to Sephiroth's mother and mentioning something about Sephiroth not being quite right. Still, it didn't make any more sense than the bizarre explanation offered for his own existence, so he pushed it aside.

There was a knock at the door just then, and without words Sephiroth went to open it.

"Breakfast time," the guest said flatly while looking in at Torrent.

"My knight in shining vinyl!" Torrent cried, leaping from his seat and throwing himself towards the doorway.

"Knight in shining vinyl? Sleet?" Sephiroth burst out laughing. "That's new."

Neither Torrent nor his twin brother, who was currently being hugged to death, said a word.

Finally, after Torrent let go and beckoned to Sephiroth, Sleet spoke.

"What does that make you, a sorceress?"

"You two aren't right," Sephiroth said, closing the door behind them and following the twins down the hallway.

"Yes, beautiful sorceress Torrent. I'll bewitch you and make you do my bidding!" Torrent said with a laugh. "And my first command is to make you get my breakfast."

"No," Sleet replied. "No way. No."

Torrent feigned mass disappointment. "I didn't want you as my knight anyway, I want... Sephiroth."

Sephiroth looked over at his name. He obviously had been running along another train of thought. "You what?"

"My knight!" Torrent exclaimed with a laugh, hoping not to get punched in the arm as Sephiroth was prone to doing once pushed to the edge. That or casting some spell that usually got the silver-haired teen sent for discipline and Torrent sent to the infirmary.

"Maybe tranquilizers," Sleet mumbled almost inaudibly as he looked over to his twin, now walking much too close Sephiroth for the older teen's comfort. Still, Sephiroth didn't quite seem ready to unleash his fury just yet, so Torrent had a chance.

For twins, they never really seemed like it. They weren't identical and could definitely pass as not even being related, especially with Torrent's current hair color. It wasn't rebelliousness that caused Torrent to change the tint of his hair almost monthly, it was just how Torrent was. He lived life up one notch from most people, doing all the things people thought but were too timid to just up and do. Currently Torrent's hair was a shimmering blue that trailed down to his shoulders.

Sleet wondered what Torrent's roots were looking like. His hair was naturally darker than Torrent's original reddish color, but the red was what made Torrent look so ridiculous if he didn't watch his roots. Of course, being several inches shorter than Torrent, Sleet didn't often get the chance to look at the top of his twin's head.

Perhaps during breakfast when they were sitting at equal levels.

Sleet had always been told he took after his father, but that was before he had to inquire just which father they were talking about. But "Father" was the correct term. To him and Torrent, Laguna was "Dad" and Squall was "Father". Squall was the strict parent, but not without a deep love for his children. It was just that when it was time for punishment, puppy-dog eyes always turned in Laguna's direction instead of Squall's.

Even in his choice of weapon, Sleet seemed to be emulating a legend he could never hope to compete with. Sometimes he caught sympathetic glances from Instructor Trepe as if she somehow knew what was going on inside of his head. But then again, she was Squall's best friend, so perhaps she did have a clue.

But for now, Sleet's gunblade was safe in its case in his room, ready for class much later in the day.

Torrent had chosen a vicious looking whip as his weapon of choice, delighting Instructor Trepe to no end. And as odd as it sounded, he and the whip went well together. Complementing his choice was an almost eerie ability to cast powerful spells with only a simple junction.

His personal junction was a green-skinned woman who cast silence as well as a variety of status effects on top of non-elemental damage. She was a prized summon, awarded to Torrent solely because of skill. She was temperamental with others, but for him, Banshee obeyed.

Sleet had a junction fitting to his particular path as well. Shiva wasn't an option, leaving him settling happily for another ice elemental, Yuki Onna, a crystalline female prankster who often left her victims looking akin to a snowman.

The second they entered the cafeteria, Sephiroth's fan club began to swarm around. They were a nuisance most of the time, and Sephiroth did little to indulge them. Yet they didn't give up so easily.

"Can I eat in peace?" Sephiroth asked, brushing away one girl who had attempted to grab his arm. It had been flattering at first, but now it was just an insane annoyance.

The twins looked at one another and raced to the end of the food line. Torrent won, crashing into the boy in front of him as he did so.

"Sorry," he replied when glared at. But the glare instantly turned to a smile.

"Shoulda known," the boy said. "You two get your essays started yet?"

Torrent rolled his eyes. "I don't even have a topic."

"Finished it yesterday," Sleet said softly a moment later.

"You what?!" both Torrent and the boy replied, looking incredulous.

"Michael has been working on his too," Sleet said, speaking of his roommate. "He didn't tell you that, Jacob?"

"Like he and I talk about assignments," Jacob replied, rolling his eyes before taking a step closer to the pile of trays just feet from him. "There are better things to discuss, like how to attract a harem like Sephiroth does."

Both he and Torrent laughed, leaving Sleet to do the eye rolling.

Torrent and Sleet shared their first class, a Battle Tactics and History Lecture that was generally far from interesting. Despite using different last names, alphabetical order still placed the pair together, leaving them free to pass notes any time the instructor had turned away.

At one point, Sleet reached over to fix Torrent's hair. The only thing more annoying than Torrent in general was Torrent's amazing ability to look like he'd been through a battle despite sitting still. Torrent turned and smiled, his blue eyes sparkling.

Torrent did need a bit of a caretaker, Sleet decided. Quickly he grabbed a blank sheet of paper from a folder and scribbled a quick note: 'Fine, I'll be your knight. You'll need all the help you can get.'

'Ooookay!', Torrent wrote back. 'Will my knight help me with that damned essay?'

Both boys were sent to the Commander for discipline after the ensuing disturbance was extinguished.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> February 11, 2006. 
> 
> (I only found this chapter while looking for a date for the first chapter. Some things have escaped archiving for a very long time!)
> 
> ((Random Darshan appearance!))

Nida shook his head.

"I'm not really concerned with exactly whose fault it is - you two need to learn to stop causing disturbances. Behavior like this will get you killed in combat."

"Sorry, Headmaster," Sleet said softly.

"Yeah... I mean, Sleet really didn't mean to cast..." Torrent began.

"Me! You're the one who..."

Nida reached over and picked up his telephone. Number four on his speed dial was set to dial Esthar and he knew that both boys knew that little fact.

Sleet and Torrent froze in place.

"Don't... call... Father..." Torrent said, his voice cracking.

"We'll even clean up the mess," Sleet added, his eyes locked on the receiver.

Nida set the phone down. "You were going to do that anyway."

Still, once the twins were dismissed, Nida picked the phone up anyway. He didn't like the pattern that was emerging, but he couldn't tell if it was friction between the siblings or if they just needed something more of a challenge.

Besides, he did have Esthar on speed-dial these days.

* * *

Sleet lay on his bed, Torrent curled sleeping beside him. They'd slept in the same bed for so many years that it was still comfortable. Even if they hadn't had the honor of sharing a womb, they shared so much else that being close wasn't troubling.

Running one hand through Torrent's hair, Sleet sighed softly. As much as he wanted to let Torrent stay for the night, he knew Michael would be back soon to crash about and turn his radio up much too loudly.

He closed his eyes, settling down for just a moment to breathe in the warm peace that seemed to waft from his brother.

Curled in the arms of shared sleep, neither one even heard Michael come in.

* * *

Before anyone could count the days, the holidays had arrived, dumping Sleet, Sephiroth, and a quite-groggy Torrent onto the train to the end of the line, where they'd most likely be picked up by some random member of the Esthar army.

Sephiroth, just like his mother, had always been fascinated by the bio-mechanical enhancements Esthar made to some of its troops, creating virtual cyborgs, more technically apt and mentally sharp than the average citizen. There were drawbacks to the process however, and those were made very public.

Laguna was never one to hide danger from the country he protected - such enhancements were purely voluntary. And in what seemed to be such a peaceful time, there was little reason for troops capable of handling more than minor skirmishes and police duties.

Torrent was fast asleep by the time the train slowed to a stop midway through the loop it used to return to the other part of the world. There was a small shack of a station set up near the tracks that definitely belied what it hid. As Sleet shook Torrent awake, a porter shook her head at Sephiroth.

"You boys going to be okay out there?" she asked, opening the door to their car as the train bumpily stopped.

"It's just a short walk," Sleet replied, giving Torrent one last swift kick before grabbing his backpack. Not a one of them had overpacked. Just one bag each and their weapons were more than enough. They were going home, of course, to a palace.

"Short walk!" Torrent echoed, waving. "Bye!"

However, instead of getting a lift from a random member of the Esthar army, the boys found themselves walking all the way to the hidden entrance to the city. Neither Sephiroth nor Torrent seemed to mind, but Sleet was getting irritable. No matter what little thing barred their path, whether it some tiny monster or just slick patches of ice, it seemed that Torrent was always grabbing onto Sephiroth, holding Sephiroth's hand or just plain hugging Sephiroth in thanks for something downright stupid. There had been no mention of a single thing Sleet had done and Sleet was getting rather annoyed.

He couldn't help but wonder if the two had become more than roommates. And Sleet knew quite well that Sephiroth had a reputation for being a bit of a player.

Suddenly Sleet wasn't entirely sure why he'd been so gripped by emotion. After all, it wasn't his place to claim Torrent in any of those ways. Surely...

Before he could follow too far along that path of thought, however, the hidden entrance came into sight. Or, more correctly, didn't come into sight. But the boys knew right where it was, having been shown repeatedly by Squall, just in case.

"About time."

Both Sleet and Torrent were startled, forgetting the most basic of their training and jumping back. Sephiroth, on the other hand, had his sword in hand quickly, pointed at what looked more like a pile of snow and less like what it ended up being - the Estharian cyborg soldier Darshan, the one assigned to guard them when they were home visiting.

"Darshan!" Torrent cried, jumping past Sleet and Sephiroth to give Darshan a smothering hug.

"If Darshan hadn't been Darshan, you two would be dead," Sephiroth said, sheathing his weapon. "Not exactly the best way to return home."

"Oh, give it a rest," Torrent said, grabbing onto Darshan's hand and not letting go.

And then Sleet smiled. Seeing Darshan was the first sign that they were truly home, if only for a little while.

"Yeah, Seph... Let it go this time."

* * *

Sleet was sitting on his bed, attempting to recover from the glut of attention thrown at him since his arrival. This was the first bit of quiet time he'd managed to have. Torrent was fast asleep, again, in the next room, and Sleet was in a bit of a conundrum. He could do anything or go anywhere, yet all he really had no idea what he wanted to do.

So for the time being, he contented himself to sit there.

There was a knock at the door, which didn't startle him as much as unnerve him. More than likely it was Laguna wanting to go do something that required bonding in some way or another. Time with Laguna would be fine any other day, but damn, Sleet just wanted to get away from the hubbub of the palace until he was ready to face it. As busy as life at Garden was, it was nothing compared to the sheer insanity of Esthar.

Whomever it was knocked again before pushing the door open. Sleet mentally kicked himself for not locking it and pretending to be off in the same dreamland that his twin currently occupied.

"Sleet?"

Sleet was surprised to hear Sephiroth's voice. Normally the older boy would have already wandered off to sequester himself with his mother or just have slipped into a military uniform to train with Darshan and his squad mates.

"Seph?"

"You are still awake," Sephiroth said, slipping into the room and closing the door behind himself. "I checked on Tor but he was out cold."

"He'll learn to be a lighter sleeper once someone ties him up while he's conked out," Sleet said firmly as he shifted enough to make room for Sephiroth to sit with him. There were chairs in the room, but the norm at Garden usually involved everyone sitting on the much more comfortable beds and it became habit.

"We could do that," Sephiroth said with a smirk. Sleet could see the wicked glint in Sephiroth's eyes and knew that already half of the plans had been formed.

"But what will we do with him once we tie him up?" Sleet asked cautiously. He didn't want to do anything too mean to his twin but certainly a little mischief could be overlooked.

"Depends on what you'll let me do with him," Sephiroth replied as he climbed onto the bed to settle a little too close for Sleet's comfort.

"Seph..." Sleet warned. He was not going to let the supposed player get his hands on Torrent.

"Jealous?" Sephiroth questioned, suddenly leaning over Sleet and pushing him back against the headboard. "You've never said anything about that before."

"I know your reputation," Sleet countered. "The fastest, strongest student and also the one who has..."

"That's just a reputation," Sephiroth admitted, sitting back and letting Sleet scoot away to the far edge of the bed. "Stories told by anyone who wants to be my girlfriend or boyfriend. I haven't even kissed anyone in Garden!"

"But your fan club..."

"Darshan," Sephiroth said softly. "I mean, he and I aren't... anything..."

"Darshan?" Sleet repeated. He knew that Sephiroth was close with their personal guard but he certainly hadn't noticed anything else between the pair. But he also had never actually witnessed Sephiroth doing anything questionable at Garden. And Sephiroth wouldn't lie to him, after all. He knew that much.

"Friendly..." Sephiroth explained. "I just wanted to know and since he's... so..."

"Darshan," Sleet said again, actually thinking about it. He couldn't help wondering just how many things Sephiroth had learned from the personal soldier. Sleet could only imagine Sephiroth never giving up control of their kisses, even as unsure hands...

"Sleet?"

He had not been thinking about that. He hadn't. Wondering if Yuki Onna would just wipe that particular memory away, Sleet hoped he wasn't blushing.

"Sorry," Sleet said quickly. "I never would have thought..."

"Well, it isn't like we're those gossipy girls," Sephiroth replied. "There isn't any right way to say 'So I've had really really hot sex with that guy who saved our asses when we were all about nine and thought it would be a good idea to go out to the plains to take care of those pesky monsters left from the Lunar Cry'."

Sleet winced. "That was not the right way to say it."

"So, with that out of the way, now would likely be a good time to tie up your brother and..."

"We still haven't figured out what to do with him," Sleet said. "Nothing too terrible or we'll just get it right back."

"Whipped cream?" Sephiroth suggested. "Chocolate syrup and a cherry?"

"Please say we're just planning to eat ice cream in front of him or I will set you on fire," Sleet said. Yes, he should have locked his door and pretended to be asleep.

He could only hope he was dreaming.

"We could just sneak down and get ice cream for ourselves," Sephiroth relented. "And leave Torrent alone, for now."

"We could go kill monsters on the plains..." Sleet countered.

"Ice cream."

Sleet nodded. "Yeah, ice cream."

That seemed safe enough, but Sleet couldn't quite forget the feeling of Sephiroth leaning over him even as the pair crept out of his room, looking around cautiously as they did so.

The palace kitchens weren't entirely deserted, but the lingering staff barely gave the boys a second look as they helped themselves to the contents of a walk-in freezer.

"You weren't actually going to kiss me, were you?" Sleet asked once his bowl was half empty and the silence that had settled over them was comfortable.

"Maybe," Sephiroth replied, licking his spoon almost suggestively. "But I wouldn't dream of trying to steal a knight from his sorceress. At least not yet."

Sleet tried to pass off the shiver that snuck through his body as a result of the ice cream and not Sephiroth's admission. He didn't want to think about it - not yet at least.

And certainly not the implication Sephiroth had thrown into that statement. He did not...

After throwing the first punch, Sleet wasn't entirely sure of anything until Darshan had him pinned to the kitchen floor, holding him as two other cyborg soldiers fought to restrain Sephiroth.

"Blood?" Darshan asked, raising a hand to smear the red on Sleet's face. Bringing his fingers to his lips, Sleet couldn't help but try to look away as his personal guard licked at the sticky red. "No... strawberry syrup. What were you two fighting about now?"

"Sorry, Sleet," Sephiroth said from above them. He was holding a hand down expectedly and Sleet reached up to take it, waiting for Darshan to move enough so that he could give a good tug to try to get Sephiroth to his knees.

But Sephiroth pulled him up, instead, trying to smile. "That was pretty good. But the chocolate syrup in my hair is worst than any of those punches..."

One water spell later, Sleet and one of the cyborg soldiers both had black eyes, Sephiroth was soaked and Darshan was laughing harder than Sleet had ever thought possible.

And Sleet still didn't know quite what to think.


End file.
